Monday, May 15, 2017

Checking in with Charles Smith

Over the Vine’s period of years, I’ve seen wine trends come
and go. Wineries merge, brands change, labels change. Early on in my tasting
time, I remember hearing about a Washington winemaker named Charles Smith.

Smith had a reputation as the “rock and roll winemaker.”
With his big mop of curly hair and penchant for mosh pit-approved attire, Smith
looked more Slayer than Sonoma. Using partnerships and interesting, approachable
twists on a number of wines, Smith built up an intriguing portfolio and a great
deal of brand loyalty when he discovered that simple, eye catching label
designs crossed with quality, reasonably priced juice makes a successful market
entry. His labels and their black and white iconography look back at you at
most decent wine stores.

Smith has long been into sustainable agriculture. All of his
winemaking operations follow up-to-date growing techniques and such. I also have
some recollection of Smith being an early adopter of using Stelvin screw-top
closures exclusively.

OK...Let's do this...

Recently, a slate of five of Smith’s wines showed up at the
door. I was interested to get re-acquainted with many of these, since it’d been
a couple of years since I’d actually done a full-on tasting of them.

Charles Smith 2015
“Eve” Washington State Chardonnay ($13) – Eve is appropriate moniker. Ripe
sweet apple blossom is the first note that shows up in the bouquet, and that’s
mirrored with those similar apple flavors on the palate, backed with some
tropical fruit. Very lean style, but not overly acidic. No butter or cream.
Tastes like there’s just a kiss of oak to round out an exceptionally
well-balanced chard. Super pleasant to drink, and a great accompaniment to some
slow-baked salmon alongside some sautéed mixed veggies, broiled with shredded
parmesan.

Had the Charles Smith
2014 “Chateau Smith” Cabernet Sauvignon ($20) and the Charles Smith 2014 “Boom! Boom!” Syrah ($18) side by side. This
pair of deep reds were cracked and poured next to a quality grill-job on some
steaks. The Cabernet was rich and fruity, with dark cherry flavors and some
blackberry notes against a medium weighted body. The finish was dry and not
quite as long as I thought it might be, at least initially. It improved over
the course of the evening.

The Syrah, on the other hand, was a juicy, savory
experience. Lots of rich blueberry and blackberry flavors, a somewhat fruity
and floral nose from the hint of Viognier blended in. The finish did something
quite interesting – it starts off quite dry and earthy, then comes back with a
little bit of candied sweetness that I found quite pleasant. Alongside the
steaks, in a bit of a surprise to me, I found myself preferring the Syrah.

The Charles Smith
2014 “The Velvet Devil” Merlot ($13) has long been one of my go-to bottles
of value-priced red, and not just because of my alma mater. (Although this
Devil is much more Purple than Blue.) Smith has always produced a quality
merlot – and this vintage is no exception. Dark, rich cool-climate fruits are
in abundance here, although there’s enough of a tobacco-ish backbone to keep it
from becoming a complete fruit bomb. Good restraint in the flavor and some good
earthiness and fruity on the finish. Another quality entry. This ended up being
an end-of-day wine that went really well with chocolate.

Then, there’s my old fave, Charles Smith 2015 “Kung Fu Girl” Riesling. ($13) I still remember years
ago when I first saw an article about Smith, where he was asked about the name
of this particular wine. His booming response was “"WHY? BECAUSE, RIESLING
AND GIRLS KICK ASS!" The man knows. In any case, I’ve recommended this
Riesling more times than I can count, because I find it hits the middle of the
Venn diagram for people who aren’t into super-sweet Rieslings, and those who
can’t deal with the flinty dry ones. Rich with citrus and honey, this is one of
the better wine pairings with spicy Asian cuisine that you’ll run across.
Peaches and some nice minerality round out the experience.

Mr. Smith, himself.

Finally, just to be a completist – and because I happened to
run across this wine when I was ambling down the pink aisle – there was the Charles Smith 2015 “Vino!” Rosé ($12)– the newest addition to his catalog.
This wine, made from 100% Sangiovese grown in Washington State, which is an interesting
twist in and of itself, is a very solid, study quaffer. Full of melon and strawberry
with a backing of herbs, I powered through this wine much too quickly on my
front porch on a warm day in early May. What was left of the bottle was
fabulous with salmon.

Smith’s wines continue to hold their reputation for being
solid, well-priced entries in the “quality everyday wine” category. I still
give them a thumbs up.

About Me

Sommelier for the Common Man. The Man who Cooks. A regular guy with
fifteen bucks worth of savoir faire and a nose for tasty food and wine.
Learn about wine at The Naked Vine. Follow my culinary adventures at The Man Who Cooks. Email me at thenakedvine @ gmail.com